For Want of A Cog
by accelerator 231
Summary: Sometimes, a small change can change the lives of many. A broken cog within a clock can tear it to pieces. A small puddle can cause a man to slip and die. A lost nail can destroy a kingdom. And sometimes, the immortal headmaster of a academy of superheroes arrives within Atlanta.
1. Chapter 1

Clutching her 2 year old daughter, Sarah, in her arms, Alice ran through the streets of Atlanta, dodging the wrecks of still-burning cars and the numerous trash strewn across the street. Her breathe came out in gasps, and she struggled not to collapse from exhaustion. Behind her, a horde of rotting corpses clad in filthy rags crawled and ran after her, their hands stretching out towards her.

Alice was no runner, having never exercised a day in her life. When the dead rose, she had been home with her daughter, while her husband was out at work. With the streets running full of undead monsters, she had boarded up the doors and windows, and had hid within her daughter's bedroom with a crowbar. She'd held her when Sarah cried, when she was woken up by the moans outside, trying to ignore the screams of people being eaten alive.

That is, until 2 weeks had passed. And then the food ran out.

At that point Alice had become desperate. Packing up some clothes and blankets, she had left the house in the morning, hoping to get some food from the shops and malls, and perhaps escape from the city. Where to go, she didn't know. She just knew that she had to get away from the massive numbers of zombies within the city.

Unfortunately, she had run across a pack while crossing a street, and they had given chase across several city blocks. By now, she was getting exhausted and dizzy, the streets surrounding her swimming around and becoming blurred.

Tripping over a pothole in the road, Alice fell flat onto the ground, sharp pain shooting up her ankle. Sarah flew from her arms, and she fell onto the ground, wailing. Looking over her shoulder, the horde was gaining on her, dozens of outstretched and rotting faces wide open, their moans filling the air.

Grabbing onto Sarah, she held her to her chest and rocked her, trying to calm her down. She spoke :"There, there...", trying to keep the trembing out of her voice, trying to be a good mother one last time.

She failed.

A pair of rotten hands, with an index finger missing from the right hand, both covered in worms infesting open sores, was about to touch her face. Turning around, she crept into a fetal position and clutched her baby tightly. Shutting her eyes tightly, she prayed that it would be quick and painless.

"Moah, awooohhh... Crunch."

Crunch?

Slowly opening her eyes, Alice turned around, seeing a street devoid of zombies. The street was filled with bits and pieces of human bodies, many of them still moving. Here and there, there was a large smear on the ground. Before her, a man stood facing away from her. He had a black suit, which had obviously seen better days. His hair was silver, and she could see a pair of spectacles on his head. In one hand, he held a cane. In another, he held a... cup of steaming coffee?

Trying to find her voice after being unexpectedly saved from a gruesome death, she stuttered. " W...W... who are you?"

The man lifted the coffee to his head, and took a sip.

Turning around with a smile on his head, he spoke. "Headmaster Ozpin, at your service."

A/N: Please review. I would like to improve. And favourite, too. If you like the story idea


	2. Chapter 2

Ozpin awoke to something tugging on his arm.

Groaning, he sat upright, and felt around him. Murmuring a 'wait a moment', he felt around using his other hand. It went to his face. Ah, his glasses were still on, by some miracle. And they were not even broken. He opened his eyes.

His glasses, though unbroken, did have several scratches across the lenses. Must be the result of smashing face first into a pillar of fire hot enough to vaporize stone. He mentally listed all his injuries. A strong smell of smoke, probably from Cinder Fall. A few burns, though rapidly healing. A bone fracture on his right leg. A massive number of bruises on his bodies. Various cuts and scrapes. And finally, a lack of coffee.

And oh yes, a biting sensation on his right arm-

Biting?

Finally fully awake, he truly looked around him for the first time and saw the carnage surrounding him. He was laying on a concrete road, in the middle of the city. Around him, several cars and buildings were on fire, producing the smoke he had smelt. Numerous corpses were laying on the ground surrounding him, several of them having large wounds or even in several pieces. Rubble, broken glass, and trash littered the streets. It looked like a war had happened here.

Looking to the right, he beheld a monster. A... man, he supposed, dressed in a black coloured business suit was busily biting down upon his arm. The man was filthy, and his skin was of an unhealthy pallor. His body was covered in sores where maggots and flies covered, and there was even necrosis surrounding several wounds. However, what concerned Ozpin the most was the giant hole in his neck where something had taken a bite out of it. the man should be a corpse. And yet, he still moved.

Still shocked from the surroundings, Ozpin shouted :" Hey." The man continued biting him. "Hey!". The man finally noticed him. But he did not answer. What he did do, is to roar and lunge for Ozpin's throat.

Fortuantely, Ozpin still had his reflexes, and punched his skull off.

Standing up and shaking the dirt from his suit, Ozpin finally gathered his wits around him. "A shambler?" He thought. "But so far into the city? But how?" He could not remember what happened after his battle with the new Fall Maiden, and as he looked around, he felt a twinge of guilt at being unable to protect these people.

"I do not know what has happened. But I'll have to look for the others. At the very least, there could still be civilians trapped in here."

Thinking that, Ozpin set off.

-

He had found no one.

Taking a long sip from his coffee cup, Ozpin pondered at the state of the city around him. And gagged. The coffee was thick and dark, quite unlike the normal ones he had in his ordinary mornings. Then again, it was outdoor coffee. The last time he had it, it was during the fall of Mount Glenn, when he had taken part in the evacuations.

Walking along the streets, he had found no living people. His scroll was damaged. Leaping to the top of the buildings was to no avail, as there were no bullheads nor flying aircraft. Walking on the ground was fruitless, too, as he had only found burnt out buildings, smashed storefronts, and more corpses. It was almost like the entire city was empty.

Sighing, Ozpin wondered if he would ever get good coffee.

That was when he heard the baby.

He sent aura to his legs and exploded forwards, his legs a blur, the concrete cracking beneath his footsteps. He rounded a corner where the scream came from, and saw a young woman curled up on the ground, with several Shamblers reaching out to devour her. The crying and wailing seemed to come from a bundle clutched in her arms.

Ozpin was tired and hungry. He had barely recovered from his injuries from his battle with Cinder Fall, and he had hardly gotten any rest these past few days. He was at one of the weakest points of his life.

Of course, that was still enough to kill them all.

The first to die was the shambler closest to the woman. First he smashed its forearms, sending them flying off. Then he swung the crook of his cane to its head, turning it into mush. He then begun to work his way through the crowd. The shamblers didn't even realize he was there before he killed them, splitting apart their bodies and turning them into smears on the ground.

In less than a second, it was over.

Behind him, a frightened and trembling voice asked :"W...W... who are you?"

Taking a sip of coffee and wincing at the taste, Ozpin thought for a moment for a way to calm this moment down.

Well, honesty was the best policy. Turning around and putting on as friendly a smile as possible, he answered: "Headmaster Ozpin, at your service."


	3. Chapter 3

As Alice walked with Headmaster Ozpin, she finally realized 2 things.

1\. The headmaster was not a normal human.

2\. He really loved coffee.

Whenever they stopped near a store or diner to get food, he would always make sure to look for coffee. There were always zombies, hiding within.

And Ozpin would take them down. Every. Single. Time. The zombies would do nothing than make a single grunting sound or start shifting their limbs, and the silver haired man will be there. Moving faster than her eyes could track, smashing apart heads and bodies to keep them down.

Ordinarily, this would have been impossible for Alice. She had tried looting a few times, but each time, she was chased off by undead. After a close call where she had to kick away a zombie that had grabbed onto Sarah. Deciding not to risk her daughter, she had only looted from shops and stores that she was sure that there were no zombies within. This made things slow, and the food she had gotten was barely enough

But traveling along with this... man? She was safe. Bending over to stuff a box of cookies into her pack, she watched as Ozpin rummaged through another cabinet, searching for his coffee.

-

"H...headmaster? How did you do that?" Alice was still in shock at being alive

This made the Ozpin confused "What?" he asked.

"That... that thing! What happened to those zombie!" Alice was pointing a shaking finger at the zombies that had myateriously disappeared.

"Oh, so that's what you call these here. On that note, Miss..."

"Miller. Alice Miller." At this point, Alice was getting annoyed.

"Ah, thank you. Miss Miller, where is this place? It does not seem to be the city of Vale. "

"Vale? This is Atlanta! Where on Earth have you been?" Alice was by now shouting, her near death experience playing hell with her nerves, which was only contrasted by the mans answer

"What's Earth?"

This continued on quite awhile, until Alice managed to gather several things. Ozpin was an alien with soul magic superpowers from a world full of monsters called grimm. And he ran a school for superheroes. Apparently, shamblers were a type of grimm whom possessed human corpses.

Ozpin smashed down the steel shutters on another door like tissue paper, walking into the store, smashing apart the heads of a swarm of zombies that had been hiding in there.

He was definitely superhuman, thats for sure.

"So... where do we go from here?"

Disturbed from her reverie, she asked :"what?"

Without turning his head, he repeated:" i mean, what do we do now, since we have enough food? Do we exit the city, and go into the surrounding countryside? Where there are less people and less zombies? Or do we stay here, where we can scavenge food, but with crowds of shamblers are hiding?

Gesturing to the pile of corpses and himself, he continued:" I can take care of myself. However, I am more worried aboit you and your child, Mrs. Miller. It may be wiser for you to reach a place with less undead. Preferably one with a group you could join. Strength in numbers, and all that."

Frowning, Alice found herself agreeing. Taking a deep breath, she was about to answer when she heard a man screaming. He said."help, help! They're going to get me! Ayudame!".

Running towards the voice, they saw a teenager dressed in a singlet trapped between 2 cars, surrounded by a horde of zombies. In a few moments, it was all over.

Ozpin was extending his hand to the shocked youth, smiling." Good morning. My name is Professor Ozpin. What's yours?".

The teen hesitated, and then replied."Miguel."

A/n: sorry, but can you guys give reviews. 1. Its kinda lonely when no one replies. 2. I prefer to know if the story is appreciated. 3. My creativity feed on likes and reviews.


	4. Chapter 4

Miguel was still thanking them for saving him, and was still asking both Ozpin and Alice to come to his base.

"Come to our home and our place, please!" he begged, still shaking Ozpin's hand. "We have food and water and beds, and" looking at the baby "We may have people to help you care for the baby." Alice hugged Sarah even more tightly. She was, tired, after all. Taking care of a child was difficult on your own. But tired or not, she wasn't going to trust in random strangers.

Looking at her face, Miguel continued on." Come on, I'll introduce you to Big G. No way can we let you guys go without thanking you. G'll treat you well. You guys saved me, after all. We'll make it worth your while."

Ozpin looked at Miguel for a moment, and said. "We'll have to discuss it."

Walking away from Miguel by several yards, Ozpin spoke first. "I think he's sincere. He isn't old enough to be practiced at lying about it. And he's too sincere."

"Yes, but what if the other guy's don't think that way? I mean, he could be tricked. Maybe they'll attack us or something. Or this is a trap, and he really is lying."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you have me, don't you? That should keep us safe."

Grudgingly, Alice had to agree. Ozpin was superhuman. And powerful. And the boy had the wide-eyed look of sincerety on his face that was hard to fake.

Walking back to Miguel, Alice said. "Fine then, we'll go to your place for now."

-Cue 20 minutes of walking as Miguel talks on and on about his family and friends-

They were entering a set of buildings. The buildings were old, with rubble and trash strewn around it. Graffiti was written on the walls, and there were broken and shattered windows around.

"You sure this is the place? It seems... abandoned."

Miguel." Yeah, sure, I'm sure. It may not seem much, but its a good place to stay."

Gesturing with his arms, Miguel shouted. "Here we are! Hey, guys! Found some people that saved me from a tight spot. And guess what, I think one of them has superpowers! And one of them has a baby, so be ready for her!"

The door creaked, and then opened. A man in a black shirt and with hair in braids opened up the door. Grinning, he spoke. "Hello, friends. Welcome."

Grimacing, she twisted her weapon as she pulled it out of the corpses's head, flicking it away so the grey matter and filth did not stain her dress. That was the 20th one she had killed. She had stopped trying to use a peaceful solution after the first 3 had tried to kill her. Walking along the road, she sliced apart several more that threw themselves at her.

She sighed. It had been half a day, and she still hadn't seen anyone. She was walking in this direction, because she had heard the sound of gunshots. But no more after that. It seems that she would have to hope to hear more. Otherwise, the person in question is either eaten, in hiding, or had gotten away successfully. Either way, she was probably going to be alone for quite some time.

Taking a ration bar she had taken from a broken down store, she considered her options. The day would soon come to an end. That means she needed to find a place to stay. Perhaps going into a room then barring the door? Or sleeping on top of a car or truck? Perhaps hiding onto a statue? Or perhaps-

"Oh shit."

She had just turned around a corner, where the gunshot had originated. And it seemed that she wasn't the only one that was attracted by the gunshot. It seemed that the shamblers were attracted too. A few hundred were in the storefront, and had smashed in the doors and was now milling inside the building. It seemed that whomever had used the gun, was probably dead. Turning around, she moved to go to another place. It was getting dark now, and she needed a place to stay.

"Help! Oh, shit no! Goddamn it! No!" The screaming had originated from the roof top, and it was a man. Seemed that he was about to be eaten by shamblers.

Looking at the shattered storefront and the crowd of shamblers, she judged that it would take too long to fight through them all. Casting several glyphs onto the side of the building, she leapt onto the first one, and then continued running up the building vertically, the glyphs preventing her from losing her footing and falling to the ground. Reaching the rooftop in a matter of seconds, she leapt onto the roof, preparing for a fight...

Only that there wasn't one.

There was only a man, on the rooftop, dressed in a shirt and jacket. His head was shaved, and his one of his hands was chained to a pipe running along the roof. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was looking at a number of shamblers pushing against the door leading to the room. The door was held closed by a chain and latch, but the chain itself was straining.

Swinging her sword, the blade shattered the chain trapping the man.

"There, you're free now. You ok?"

The man looked at the girl opened mouth, after staring at the broken chain. After awhile, he replied. "Merle."

"Weiss".


	5. Chapter 5

"So may i ask, what do you do here?" They were standing in the middle of the hall, while the elderly milled about them. Guillermo had finally shown them around, and Alice had gone off to rest.

"This is the old folks home. These people, the old ones… the staff took off, just left 'em here to die. Me and Felipe were the only ones who stayed. Felipe's a nurse… a special care provider. Me, I'm the custodian."

"Ah, i see. But what about the rest? Are they your friends? Or did they just find this place?"

"The Vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind… plunderers, the kind that take by force."

Ozpin nodded. He had seen such things before, in the wild. When winters got bad, or bandits arrived, people began to fight each other for resources they needed to survive. Until the grimm came, and destroyed what was left.

Guillermo continud. "Well, i've heard of Miguel babbling to the boys. Something about you having superpowers like superman or somethin'. Know what happened there?"

At this point, Ozpin paused. He had no idea where he was. There was no grimm, no hunters, no dust, and no aura. Yet this man, he couls trust. He had seen Guillermo take care of the elderly, help them take their medicines and pills. He obviously was serious about taking care of them.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I believe though he may exaggerate a bit, i think most of his tales may have a bit of truth in it."

"Really?". Guillermo looked sceptical. Ozpin couldn't blame him. Most people who haven't seen a hunter were. "Mind if you demonstrate?"

"May i ask how?"

"Miguel said you killed a dozen zed in less than a second. Mind if you demonstrate that speed?"

Ozpin paused, then looked across the hall. It was about 20 metres from his standing point to the wall. Concentrating, he marshalled his aura and then moved.

Guillermo's jaw dropped as the silver haired man became a blur, and then suddenly stopped at the wall at the far end of the meeting hall. It took less than a second.

The man, could, in fact, take a dozen zed in the blink of an eye.

This guy was a gamechanger.

"So the stories were true, then." He spoke breathelessly, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. "What else can you do?"

The old man, Ozpin, replied. "I gave a forcefield that protects me, as wellas greater strength."

Nice. Someone who could beat zed all day. Just what he needed.

It was at this point that he made his decision. "Now Mr. Ozpin, i have a proposal for you."

"I'm listening."

"Come with me." Guillermo brought Ozpin to a secluded room, where no one would overhear.

"First of all, please do not tell anyone this."

"Ok then"

"We're running out of food and medicine."

To this, Ozpin did react. "I see. So you need my help for this?"

Guillermo could only nod at this." I know several places around town, places where there would be food and medicine for the old folks. Problem is, place is crawling with zed. We couldn't get in there. But with your help, we could get in, then get enough food for several more months. In return for that, we'll give you a place to stay. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. We'll even take care of those 2 you brought in."

Ozpin thought about it for several minutes, his face deep in thought. Finally, he looked up, and nodded. "Very well then."


	6. Chapter 6

The man looked down upon the broken chain for several seconds in disbelief, before a smile brole upon his face, and he shouted. "Whoohoo! Hell yeah! Told yeah i didn't need ya, Jesus!". After a few more shouts of joy, he finally turned around, and said. "Thanks for the save, thought i was a goner there."

Smiling at him, Weiss bowed, and said, "Huntress-in-training, Weiss Schnee, at your service. May i ask, why were you chained to the roof? And why is there such a large infestation of shamblers?"

Looking at her, the man replied. "I don't know about any Hunters or so, but those 'shamblers' were attracted by some asshole. Same asshole chained me here and left me to die.

Wow. That sounded like a real asshole. Maybe she'll have to knock some sense into him.

"But how did you get up here, though? I don't think there were any ladders." The man was now looking at the locked door. The shamblers were still pushing at it, trying to get to him.

"Oh, I just used my glyphs to climb onto the roof. They attract me so I can move vertically. See?" Saying that, she cast a single glyph onto the floor of the roof.

"Huh, wow. Magic. Not the craziest thing I've seen. How are we going to get down?"

Hearing this, Weiss started to walk towards the door. "Normally, I would bring someone down with me using the glyphs. However, since you're a civilian, I can't do that. Now, stay behind me, while I clear out the monsters. When I tell you its safe, you can come down."

At this, Merle looked up, and said. "Oh, no. I'm not going to do that. I don't need some little girl to protect me. Say what, you use your magic thing, and I'll show you what a real man can do."

Sigh. It seems there was no helping it. "Very well then."

-

Merele groaned as he clung to the brick surface, trying not to lose his lunch. He tried to keep his eyes shut, to stop him from seeing what was waiting for him below.

A sigh came fom beside him.

Beside him, was that upper class girl. Rolling her eyes, she said. "I told you we should have taken the stairs. Don't pusb yourself."

But Merle isn't going to lose to any highclass girly. "I ain't done yet." Saying that, he opened his eyes and started to slowly climb down the wall. Below him, the geeks had finally noticed him. They raised their arms, mouths wide open. Merle tried to stifle a shudder as he saw their rotting teeth. He could already imagine it, his hand slipping, falling into the crowd, his last sight being a mouth full of black teeth and rotten flesh biting down upon his face...

"Ok, i think i may need some help here."

Sighing, she picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. Making one of those weird circles, she then jumped, and started leaping over the streets. She jumped several hundred meters, flying over the crowd of Zed, until they were in an empty street.

Setting Merle back on the ground, and leaving him to his business, Weiss Schnee looked around her. No one. All stores were either deserted or looted. Burning wrecks and cars were still littered around the streets, and there was a stink in the air. Seems like this place was wrecked pretty badly. But why weren't there any grimm? Was there a mass plague, then the corpses were possessed and then the resulting town was destroyed? But then, why weren't there any beowulves nor Ursas? Strange.

Turning to Merle who had finished emptying his stomach, Weiss asked. "So where's your your brother?"

Merle pointed to the hills near the city. "Up there. With a bunch of other guys. I'll show ya."

With that, they began to walk out of the city. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next day, Ozpin entered the room at the appointed time, along with several other men. Guillermo had called in his more trusted men, and the relatives of the old folks. The room was bare, with only a chair in the front, with a light bulb in the ceiling. Ozpin stood inside, with a dozen other men inside the place. The men were milling about, confused and talking. Some were gossiping about him. Some were wondering where Guillermo was. Some were wondering why they were told to come here and not let anyone know.

The door opened, and Guillermo entered the room, with several backpacks and containers. He placed them in one corner, and sat down onto the chair, waiting for the noise to die down. Afterwards, he began. "Hello, boys. You're wondering why you're here. Its simple. And i don't want you tell anyone else about it. We're running out of food and medicine." There was silence at this. "So yes, we're doomed. We need food, we need medicine from the pharmacies, we need gasoline, and we need materials to construct a barricade. And we need a source of food for ourselves, if we're going to survive. So here's what we're going to do."

Gesturing to the backpacks and containers, he spoke. "You twelve are strong men. Good at carrying stuff. What I need you to do, is to go to Westland Mall, and pick up everything there. Everything. I've been there before, and there's a lot of stuff. You guys have been there before, and you know the supermarket. Where they store the food, the warehouses. And the fact that there are several pharmacies there, with their own backup generators for the medicines. And last but not least, gardening materials to make our own food. Don't give a shit about the flowers and stuff. Just anything thats edible. Lettuce, cabbages, turnips, potatoes, whatever. Any questions?"

The question came from a man beside Ozpin. "But G, ain't the entire place crawling with zombies? I think that the people tried to hole up there, before a zed got in and bit people. Now there are, like, a few thousand zombies crawling inside the place. No way are we going to do break in there. And we can't get past the barricade they put up anyway."

At this, Guillermo smiled. Standing up, he walked up to Ozpin and pointed at him. "I know that. See this guy? He's our solution. Remember those stories Miguel was talking about?"

"Yeah, those tall tales he was saying? Too bad he isn't a comic book writer." There was a small laugh at this.

"Well, I'm here to tell you this. He ain't wrong. In fact, I think he hasn't been telling us the weirder stuff." At this point, the laughter stopped. "What, don't believe me? Well, later, you're going to see what he can do. Ozpin? I'm going to need your help on this. We don't really have any good guns, and any shooting any will draw more. That's when I need you to take them down. Quietly. That ok with you?"

Ozpin then replied. "Fine then. Though I have to ask. What if we find other survivors?"

At that, Guillermo grimaced. "Then we can't let them know where we live. Others have tried to come here before. Looters. Thugs. We drove them off. Lost a few good men there. I'm afraid we can't let anyone go near us."

Ozpin was nonplussed by Guillermo's refusal. "What about children? Or people that are no threat? After all, more sets of hands means more things get done. You mostly have your hands full dealing with the old folks."

Eyes narrowing, Guillermo sighed, and finally replied to him. "Fine then. The old folks would love to have some children. Would brighten up the place a bit. And I know of several guns. Some of the boys talked about it. Some poor sap that got eaten, along with his horse. Seems that before that, he dropped a whole bag of guns on the street. Should still be there. If you can grab them, it'll be much easier to fight off any looters or robbers."

Turning to his side, he started handing out the backpacks and containers. Bring these. Whatever gasoline you can find, you fill the containers. Whatever food, canned food, anything edible, anything useful like tools? Put them in the backpack. But if its too heavy? Ditch them. We can always get them back. We can't with you. Now move out."

-

They exited the place, and walked towards the mall, avoiding any large groups of shamblers. Any stragglers, they put down with pipes and crowbars. Until they finally turned around a corner and reached the mall.

The mall was dilapidated, with a large number of cars surrounding it haphazadly. Around them, were several dozen shamblers. They were wandering around aimlessly, as they have not detected them yet. Behind them, was the door of the mall, held shut by a barricade. The zed were too many for their men to fight. In this tight space, with no room to maneuver, they would be crowded, dragged down, and killed.

Behind him, the men whispered. "This is your turn, Ozpin. Show us what you can do." Shrugging his shoulders, Ozpin walked towards the shamblers. He smashed the closest one with his cane, then used his aura to sprint towards the next one. It was right next to a car. Using aura again, he leapt over the truck and killed another one. Using aura to increase his speed and strength, he smashed the skulls of every single shambler in the car park. Until he was right in front of the mall gates.

The gates were barred, with metal bars and wooden planks, with several layers of furniture and shelves behind it to make sure nothing got through. How unfortunate, then, that the danger came from within, not without.

He could see several corpses right next to the doors, amongst scattered pieces of the barricade. 'They must have been trying to escape, only now realizing that they have trapped themselves inside.' he thought. He could see palm prints on the door, where people had hammered and smacked onto the barricades when trying to escape, only to realize they were doomed. And the blood trails when they had been caught, and then dragged away. Behind them, there were at least several hundred zombies. He could see even more walking amongst the upper levels.

Sighing, Ozpin realized what he must do.

There was no way to open the doors quietly. If he tried to open it, the wooden barricades would drop and the zombies would notice him. If he smashed the glass, the zombies would still notice him due to the sound.

He would just have to bulldoze his way through, using maximum speed and strength. Lifting his cane, he swung.

The doors were shattered and sent flying. The wooden and metal planks and bars were shattered. The barricade was sent flying and tumbled through the air, only to land on the ground and roll forward crushing lines of shamblers. They began to turn, some were beginning to run. Ozpin leapt through the doors, in a stance. Lifting his cane, he concentrated aura at the tip... and then released it.

A white line of energy flew through the zombie ranks, sizzling and cutting apart corpses where it touched them. It cut through the crowd of monsters, smashed straight through the water fountain in the center of the lobby, only to stop when smashing through several storefronts at the far end from the mall. The zombies from the second and third floors heard the noise, and started to move downwards.

No matter. With the mass of shamblers gone, Ozpin had space to maneuver. Now time to remove the stragglers and get the supplies.

Meantime, the men behind him had finally caught up. Looking at the pile of corpses covering the floor, they looked on in awe, looking around the mall that had recently been infested with shamblers, and had been taken down in less than 5 minutes 'Me cago en Dios' one said. They stared some more, until Ozpin interrupted them. Tapping his cane onto the ground twice, he reminded them. "Shouldn't you be going somewhere?"

Startled, the dozen-strong gang of men began to walk through the mall, grabbing anything they could find.


	8. Chapter 8

Nicholas laughed and laughed as the alarms rang around him.

He had the old man, or the 'hero', as Miguel had called him, smash open the storefront door. Within, there were assorted 'treasures'. All shiny and colourful, their wrappers glimmered in the sunlight.

Chocolate. Sweets. Candy canes. Honey.

Although the other guys around him would probably rib him for his tastes, and his grandmother would tell him to stop his sweet tooth, he didn't care. He finally had candy. Besides, he needed the sugar. Running around all the time, it tired him out. Having a steady supply of energy would probably save his life. And take off the boredom and hunger pangs.

Grabbing several Mars and snicker bars, he started to stuff his bag full of the solid blocks of chocolate. After filling 2 bags, he realized something. Opening up a smaller bag, he started to fill it with the best sweets.

It wouldn't do to not reward the one who let them enter the mall in the first place.

-

Pablo smiled as he opened the pharmacy and felt the cool air wash over him. 'There's cool air' he thought. That meant the air conditioning was still working. And that meant the power was working. And the refrigeration. Which meant the medicine. Entering the clinic, he began to fill his backpack with the medicine. Insulin, Aspirin, morphine... as he placed a box of pills within his backpack, his hand slipped, and it dropped onto the floor, rolling to the side. Sighing, he walked to the isle and bent down to pick it up.

That was when he noticed the bloodstains.

A trail of blood was there, from the door to further in within the pharmacy. Come to think of it, the place wasn't locked.

Which means that someone had been bitten, and had crawled in here hoping to save himself using the medicine.

He was not alone.

Grabbing the pills and taking his crowbar into his hand, he stood in alert for any possible attack. Which was the only thing that saved him as a door behind him opened up, and a zombie burst out. Twisting his body, he swung the crowbar tip into the head of the zombie, sending it into the side of the wall and splattering it with decomposing brain matter. The corpse twitched, and then lay still.

Releasing a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding, Pablo started to look around, searching for anymore attackers. Picking up a walkie talkie that he had brought with him, he spoke. "Watch out, my friends. It seems that the old man hasn't cleared up everything. There seems to be some left inside the rooms. Watch out."

With that said, he started to stuff his bag with medicines again, this time with the crowbar never straying far from his right hand.

-

Samuel filled his backpack with cans of beans, fruits and soup. He looked left and right, searching for zombies. But he wasn't truly afraid of them. He could deal with them using his hammer. What he was truly afraid of, was the one who had come to live with them.

Samuel hadn't believed the stories when Miguel had first come back. Superhero? What a load of bullshit. But he couldn't deny the evidence before his eyes, or what he had seen in the mall when he came in.

First was in the carpark. The old man, Ozpin, had disappeared. What came next was the zombies suddenly starting to flying, and him teleporting all over the place in a blur. Then the door of the mall exploded. And then a flash of light came.

When they came there, there was no zombie. No walker. Just a few hundred broken corpses, a smashed fountain, and an ocean of gore. The rest had just ignored it, or cheered.. but Samuel had thought. " What kind of being can do that?"

Worse of all, he could tell the kind of strength and speed needed to kill all those zombies. And he knew that Big G and the rest couldn't fight that off. If Ozpin tried to take over the group, there was no stopping him. If he wanted to kill all of them, he could not be stopped. If he wanted to rob them blind, no one could lift a finger.

Muttering to himself, Samuel wondered if Ozpin was a greater danger to the group than the zombies.

-

Diego was taking a walk, stashing the tools from the D.I.Y. store into his bag. In went a hammer, nails, some paint, more crowbars, a saw, and a power drill. All things he had been wishing he had for these past few months for the workshop, and now, he could get it. Grabbing a can of paint, he begun to hum a tune. With these tools and materials, he would be able to do some renovation in the old folks home. Maybe knock down a few walls to make it bigger. Make some traps for food, and some put it into the forest. Maybe even make more useful weapons. All kinds of stuff.

And even more. From what he could see, Ozpin could easily mow down a few thousand zombies, easy. Using that, any of the former buildings, which were death traps, could be cleared out easily and entered. Hell, with him, the tools, and the rest of the boys working together, they won't have to scrabble around to survive. Heck, maybe they could even start having free time and fixing up good stuff for themselves.

It was something he had never told Guillermo and the rest. For the first few months when the dead had risen, he had thought the whole world was doomed. Most of the world was dead. The military was gone, everyone was gone. The zombies were fast, didn't rot nor starve. The only other people they had met were mad looters or killers. The human race had been toppled. He thought that, if the lack of supplies or looters didn't kill them first, the winter will. But now, with Ozpin's help this was different.

For the first time in a few months, Diego felt hope.


	9. Chapter 9

By this point, they had avoided the mass of the zombies within the city, and were on the outskirts. Here, the number of undead were sparse. Merle still insisted on killing them himself, though, smashing their heads with a great swings of a wooden board he had found. Between zombie-smashings, he and Weiss talked. About everything.

"So, you've got superpowers, right? So how did you get them?" Merle asked, as he walked off from destroying another zombie's head. "I got them when I trained with my aura, as I prepared to go to combat school." replied Weiss, in confusion. Why didn't he know about aura? Anyone not living under a rock knew about aura. "Well, I've never seen anyone do the stuff you do, and I'm quite sure someone with superpowers would have made the news. And I've never heard of combat school either."

This just made Weiss even more confused. "No aura? Then how do you use dust? And how do you fight off the grimm without aura using fighters? And what kind of nation doesn't have a dedicated place to train Hunter?" Merle looked at her, and then said. "Well, first of all, why don't you tell me what grimm are." Lifting a finger, Weiss explained. "Well, Grimm are a type of being, that are predominantly black in colour, with white coloured markings and red insides. They usually come in forms that resemble those of animals, such as bears, wolves, snakes, birds, as well as scorpions. They are much larger and tougher than ordinary living creatures, capable of destroying large stone walls as well as taking hits from gunfire, and only get smarter, stronger, and tougher with age. They have no need to eat, drink, nor rest, and are utterly devoted to the destruction of mankind. Their origins are unknown, and they have been known as long as man has walked the surface of Remnant. Research on Grimm is near-impossible, as they die in captivity, and their corpses sublimate into smoke after death." Putting her finger down, she turned to Merle and asked. "Ring a bell yet?"

Merle stared for a moment, and then replied. "I swear to god, if I hadn't seen you do magic bullshit, I'll be saying that you were fucking with me." Taken aback, "Fucking with you? What's that? And besides, how could you not know of Grimm? They're found in every part of Remnant."

"I don't know much, little girl, but I think that you're a long way from home. Now what was that about aura? Was it the thing that let you cast those fancy circles?"

At this point, Weiss began her lecture on aura. And Merle then told her about his world. How they came by without Dust. Various events in history. And the proud history of his clan. By the time they finished, they were already at the camp.

The first person to meet them was a rather stout, black man. Upon looking upon the duo, he gaped and dropped the bucket of water he was carrying. Waving at him, Merle grinned and spoke, showing his free hand. "Yo, T-dog! Look what I found! Nice try trying to kill me!" The look on that dumb nigger's face. was nearly worth everything. "So motherfucker. I'm going to fuck you up. And guess what. My little friend here's going to help me."

-

After Merle's greeting to his acquaintance, Weiss Schnee walked up to T-dog. Remembering the incident with Blake, she reined in her anger. Taking a deep breath, she thought. "Calm down, calm down. Remember about Blake and her stuff. Maybe he had a good reason. Maybe there is something more."

Turning to the black man, she asked. "So may I ask why you left him chained up upon the roof, for zombies to be eaten?" The black man seemed just confused. "I didn't. The one who chained him up was that Rick guy. He tied up the asshole, and then got a truck to save us. I got sent to unlock the handcuff, but I tripped. The key fell into the drain. I didn't mean to do so. It was an accident, man!"

"Bullshit! You goddamn nigger, you did that on purpose!" Merle was shouting now, pointing a finger at T-dog. "It must be because I gave you a good punch, and you were too chicken to fight back directly. Now come up and face your punishment like a man. If you can even do that."

At this point, everyone had heard the shouting, and people had come to the scene. "Where can I find Rick grimes? I need to speak to him."

"Merle? How did you get out?" "Hey, brother. Thought you were trapped or something. How did you get loose?" Two men had come out from the camp. One was a man in a uniform, with a hat and a badge. Another was a scruffy man in in a shirt and wielding a crossbow. "That's the man." Said Merle, pointing to the man in the hat. "That's the asshole who chained me up."

The man with the uniform, Rick, walked up to Weiss, and asked. "How did he get away from the chain? I thought the key was lost. We were planning to go pick him up." Weiss replied. "I broke the chain. And why did you chain a man up, especially when he was surrounded by the walking dead?"

Rick scowled at this, and he replied, pointing to both T-dog and Merle. "Merle was shooting walkers, which were attracting even more, making it harder for us to get out. Then he tried to beat up T-dog for some racist shit. So I put him in some time-out so he can calm down."

Turning to the man she had saved from certain death, Weiss asked. "Merle, is what they are saying true? That you picked a fight first."

"Yeah, I did it cause he was a nigger. He had it coming for talking back to a white man. The rest are just dumbass shits. And I don't care he fell. Still did it on purpose."

"First of all, what's a nigger. Secondly, what's special about being white? Thirdly, why did you lie to me?"

Merle looked stunned at this. "How can you know what's a nigger?" He sneered at T-dog. "A nigger is like that. Some black man too full of himself. Thinking he's the equal of good white folks like us."

"What's wrong with being black?"

"Because it makes them pieces of shit that should be grateful we let them lick our boots."

"Why?"

"Because they're black."

"So?"

"So?" He seemed surprised. "You're some upper class white girl. How can you not know? Unless you're like the rest of them. Idiots."

Weiss just simply walked away. "Whatever. I'll just walk away to clear my head."


End file.
